The 2020 IAPS conference addresses time: the slow and the fast, the close and the distant. Time as the seconds, days, months or years affecting the uses and representations of the built and natural environment. Time that conditions the flows of people, goods and information. Time that weighs on aging infrastructures. Time interrupted by life events or natural or human-made catastrophes, time that ends life or disturbs ecosystems. Time as a conceptual and methodological lens and a design parameter. 

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“Running out of time” stresses the urgency to act toward more sustainable societies, to bring the necessary changes to improve people’s quality of life, diminish social and population inequalities, and heal our planet. The conference also focuses on where and how to implement these changes. It stresses the pressure on researchers to undertake this complex and demanding task. It addresses the nature and depth of knowledge that needs to be integrated and translated into decision support aids to contribute to solving complex and multi-sectorial problems. 

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“Setting the pace for future generations” underlines the necessity to act beyond immediate needs and concerns, and to take responsibility for those who will follow, with less time to react to the world bequeathed to them. 

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Researchers working on time-related topics and researchers who want to revisit their research in the light of time are invited to submit an abstract. Since IAPS 2020 is celebrating 50 years of outstanding research in people-environment relations, the program will also review lessons learned up to now and discuss the challenges the domain is facing in order to respond to pressing issues of our time and for future generations. Submissions are welcomed on such issues as : 

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1. Understanding the influence of time on people-environment relations

• Stages in lifecycle, life events or work-life balance

• Inertia and transformations of habitus, cultural models, architectural types and urban forms

• Age and obsolescence of public infrastructure and buildings

• Natural disasters or events resulting from human action or climate change

• Experience of time and space as influenced by ICT, migrations and globalization

2. Adapting methodologies to understand the role of time and change in people-environment relations

• Life-cycle, longitudinal and cohort studies using such tools as time budgets, participant observation, etc.

• Audit tools and post-occupancy evaluations

• ICT and geo-localization technologies

• Living labs and participatory research

• Simulation methods for thinking  ahead of complex changes, such as future studies, back-casting scenarios and systemic approaches

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3. Acting toward improving people-environment relations and setting the pace for future generations 

• Re-qualification, recomposition and re-use of buildings and spaces

• Chrono-urbanism and space-time design for smarter cities and mobilities

• Loose-fit architecture, adaptable design and ephemeral place-making in response to rapid environmental and cultural change

• Operationalizing research and knowledge transfer to reach out to citizens, professionals and decision makers

• Working with generations and for future generations

4. Reviewing the lessons learned from 50 years of people-environment research 

• Reflective reviews and assessments of the nature, depth and gaps in knowledge of people-environment relations

• Current debates and new avenues in theory building and methodological development 

• Case studies of innovative approaches to interdisciplinary research, knowledge transfer and action

• Increasing the relevance of people - environment relations studies for the pressing issues of our time and future generations